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Samwise Gamgee
'''Samwise Gamgee', known as Sam, was a Hobbit of the Shire. He was Frodo Baggins' gardener and best friend. Sam proved himself to be Frodo's closest and most dependable companion, the most loyal of the Fellowship of the Ring, and played a critical role in protecting Frodo and destroying the One Ring. Biography Early Life Sam was the youngest son of Hamfast and Bell Gamgee, and had many brothers and sisters. A gardener by trade, Sam seemed to be a simple Hobbit of plain speech. However, his love for Elves, his gift for poetry, and his belief that the world contained greater wonders than most hobbits were aware of (all nurtured by his tutor Bilbo Baggins) set him apart from the beginning. It was Sam who first introduced (in Tolkien's novels) the theme of the Elves sailing from Middle-earth, a subtle foreshadowing of Bilbo and Frodo's final journey across the sea from the Grey Havens. He lived with his father, Hamfast Gamgee, known commonly as "The Gaffer", on Bagshot Row in the Shire, close to Bag End. Sam's mother was Bell Goodchild. He had five siblings: Hamson, Halfred, Daisy, May, and Marigold. Quest of the Ring As "punishment" for eavesdropping on Gandalf's conversation with Frodo regarding the dangers of the One Ring, Gandalf chose Sam to be Frodo's companion on his journey to Rivendell. Sam saved Frodo's life more than once during the quest to destroy the Ring, and would accompany him all the way to Mount Doom. After Shelob attacked and seemingly killed Frodo, Sam took the Ring, intending to complete the quest on his own. Because he held the Ring for a time, he was considered one of the Ring-bearers and during the time he possessed it the Ring tempted him with visions of a great garden all for himself. Being humble, Sam never gave into the treacherous visions and temptations of the Ring, and returned it when he discovered Frodo alive in the Tower of Cirith Ungol.''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the King'', Book Six, Ch. I: "The Tower of Cirith Ungol" He and Bilbo were the only ones ever to have given up the ring willingly, and only Sam surrendered it readily. When Orcs took Frodo's body, Sam overheard one of them saying that Frodo was still alive, so he followed the Orcs into the Tower of Cirith Ungol, determined to rescue Frodo. Once there he found that competing bands of Uruks and Morgul Orcs had rioted and killed one another over the possession of Frodo's mithril coat, thus making it easier for Sam to get to Frodo and escape the tower with him. Sam and Frodo made their way to Mount Doom, disguised as Orcs along the way. The way to Mount Doom was filled with fiery rocks and pillows of ash which made it almost impossible for the hobbits to pass. When Frodo collapsed from weakness, Sam carried him up the slopes of Mount Doom, only to be stopped by Gollum. Sam delayed Gollum while Frodo continued towards the Cracks of Doom. Sam then rushed to follow Frodo, only to see Frodo renounce the quest and claim the Ring as his own, putting it on his finger. Unbeknownst to Sam, Gollum had followed in his tracks, and attacked him from behind. In the moments while Sam was dazed, Gollum attacked Frodo, and after a brief struggle took the Ring by force by biting off Frodo's finger. Gollum began to celebrate regaining the Ring, but in doing so slipped and fell to his death in the fiery chasm below, destroying the Ring in the process.''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the King'', Book Six, Ch. III: "Mount Doom" The destruction of the Ring triggered a violent upheaval of Mount Doom, but with Sam's assistance, the two hobbits escaped from Sammath Naur onto the mountainside. Though they attempted to descend, the hobbits were trapped by the issue of lava and fiery ash from the mountain. Before the fire reached them, however, Gwaihir the lord of the Great Eagles, come at the behest of Gandalf, spotted the hobbits from afar. Landroval and Meneldor, Gwaihir's companions, rescued Sam and Frodo and flew them to the safety of Ithilien.''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the King'', Book Six, Ch. IV: "The Field of Cormallen" Sam and Frodo were healed of their wounds, while still unconscious, by Aragorn upon reaching Ithilien. Sam awoke, to his surprise, to find Gandalf watching over him. Gandalf led Sam and Frodo to the Field of Cormallen, where they were met by a large crowd, who praised the hobbits in many tongues for their heroism and sacrifice. There they met also Aragorn, who revealed himself to the hobbits as the true king of Gondor and Arnor. In the following days, Frodo and Sam were reunited with the surviving members of the Fellowship, and at length, those assembled traveled to Minas Tirith for Aragorn's coronation. Some days afterwards, Sam, along with a great company including Aragorn, Gandalf, Galadriel, and the other hobbits, left Minas Tirith, traveling towards the Shire by way of Rohan, Isengard, and Rivendell. All but Gandalf left them by the time the company reached Rivendell, and from there the four hobbits returned to the Shire.''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the King'', Book Six, Ch. VI: "Many Partings"''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the King'', Book Six, Ch. VII: "The Return Journey" Upon reaching their native country, however, they found it to be usurped by ruffians and unfriendly hobbits under the rule of Lotho Sackville-Baggins, who had begun the process of turning the Shire into an industrial center. Sam, Frodo, Merry, and Pippin played an instrumental role in what afterwards became known as the Scouring of the Shire, in which the Shire was returned to its original state of organization. It was also discovered that Lotho was in fact a puppet of Saruman, who had come north to play his last bit of mischief. Both met their demise in the events prior to and following the Battle of Bywater.''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the King'', Book Six, Ch. VIII: "The Scouring of the Shire" After the War of the Ring Following the Scouring of the Shire, Sam married Rose (Rosie) Cotton. They had thirteen children: Elanor the Fair, Frodo, Rose, Merry, Pippin, Goldilocks, Hamfast, Daisy, Primrose, Bilbo, Ruby, Robin, and Tolman. When Frodo Baggins announced that he was leaving to the Undying Lands, west of Middle-earth, he gave Sam the Red Book of Westmarch and the household of Bag End where he and his large personal family later called the Gardners would live for many years.''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the King'', Book Six, Ch. X: "The Grey Havens" After Will Whitfoot resigned his post as Mayor of Michel Delving, in SR 1427, Sam was elected Mayor of the Shire for seven consecutive seven-year terms. Later years After his wife died in the year 61 of the Fourth Age (SR 1482), Sam entrusted the Red Book to his daughter, Elanor and left the Shire. It was a tradition handed down from Elanor that he went to the Grey Havens, and because he was also a Ring-bearer (albeit for a short time), he was allowed to pass over the Sea to be reunited with Frodo in the Undying Lands.The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "Later Events concerning the Members of the Fellowship of the Ring" Etymology Tolkien took the name from Gamgee Tissue, a surgical dressing invented by a 19th century Birmingham surgeon called Joseph Sampson Gamgee. "Gamgee" became the colloquial name in Birmingham for cotton wool; Tolkien described why he had chosen that name for his character: It is possible that Tolkien may have subconsciously recalled Dr. Gamgee (who died in 1886 but is commemorated by a plaque at the Birmingham Medical Institute, only yards from Tolkien's childhood home) but he claimed to be genuinely surprised when, in March 1956, he received a letter from one Sam Gamgee, who had heard that his name was in ''The Lord of the Rings but had not read the book. Tolkien replied on March 18: The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, In the long summary-letter sent to Milton Waldman, published in as in Letter 131. He proceeded to send Mr. Gamgee a signed copy of all three volumes of the book. However, the incident sparked a nagging worry in Tolkien's mind, as he recorded in his journal: In Appendix F of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien states that the Westron form of Sam's name is Banazîr Galbasi (also spelled Galpsi). Banazîr comes from elements meaning "halfwise" or "simple"; Tolkien replaced it with Samwise, a modernization of the ancient English samwís which corresponds closely in meaning. Galbasi comes from the name of the village Galabas. The name Galabas uses the elements galab-'', meaning "game", and ''bas-'', corresponding somewhat to "-wich" or "-wick". Tolkien's English translation, ''Samwís Gamwich, could have come to Samwise Gamgee in modern English. Sam is also known as Perhael in Sindarin.The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F: Family Trees (Hobbits), II: On Translation Commentary 's films]] Many regard Sam Gamgee as the "true hero" of The Lord of the RIngs. Tolkien himself expressed this view in one of his letters, referring to him as the "chief hero", with special emphasis placed on Sam's "rustic love" for Rosie. The quest to destroy the Ring would not have succeeded without Sam, who repeatedly saves Frodo from disaster (such as rescuing him at Cirith Ungol and carrying him up Mount Doom). The relationship between Frodo and Sam was, in many respects, at the centre of The Lord of the Rings. To the modern reader, it seems archaic - it is clearly extremely class-oriented: Sam's humbleness and "plain speaking" is frequently emphasized in contrast to Frodo's "gentility", and he often shows deference to Frodo, calling him "Mister Frodo". At the same time, a strong bond of love and trust grows between them, portrayed most poignantly during the events of Cirith Ungol, where Sam vows to return to his (apparently) dead master, to be reunited with Frodo in death. Tolkienologists regard Sam as Frodo's batman. In the British Army, a batman was an orderly who acted as the personal servant of an officer. It was a role with which Tolkien (who served as an Army officer in the First World War) would have been extremely familiar. Sam undertakes all of the typical roles of a batman - he runs errands for Frodo, he cooks, he transports him (or at least carries him), and he carries his luggage. Tolkien confirmed this interpretation when he wrote in a private letter that: Compare with the relationship between Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza, and the gradual "Quixotization" of Sancho. Jim Butcher also describes Samwise in his book Changes: Portrayals in adaptations 1978 and 1980 adaptations Roddy McDowall voiced the character of Samwise Gamgee in the 1980 animated short of The Return of the King, made directly for television. In the more popular animated version, originally released in 1978, Michael Scholes voiced the character. The Lord of the Rings film trilogy in Peter Jackson's third film|185x185px|left]] In the Peter Jackson movies The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Sam was played by Sean Astin. It is not clear whether Astin had heard Nighy's radio performance, but both actors bring very similar characterizations and accents to the role. Radio In the 1981 BBC radio [[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)|serial of The Lord of the Rings]], Sam was played by William Nighy. Video games *Sam appeared as a playable character in the action adventure video games The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). These both follow Peter Jackson's movie trilogy, and were made by New Line Cinema (owned by Warner Bros.), published by Electronic Arts, and licensed by various companies such as Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony. *Sam appeared once again in the video game The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest but as the narrator of the story of the War of the Third Age as Sam is telling the story to his children after Frodo left Middle-Earth. Sean Astin once again reprises his role as Samwise Gamgee. *Sam also appears in minifigure form in ''LEGO The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game'' (2012). His dialogue is from the film trilogy. *In Electronic Arts' ''Battle for Middle-earth ''strategy game series, Sam can be summoned temporarily, along with his three companions, by good factions who use the "Summon Hobbit Allies" power. Weapons Sword Sam uses a short Barrow-blade for melee combat in books, movies and video games, but for a time after Frodo was attacked by Shelob and sent to the Tower of Cirith Ungol, Sam used Frodo's sword Sting to rescue him and more. Frying pan image of Sam's Frying Pan]] Sam uses his frying pan in Balin's Tomb as a weapon alongside his Barrow-blade. Throwing weapons Sam can use rocks to hit opponents from a distance, however that is not their only purpose in the book (Frodo). In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (video game), he uses throwing knives instead of rocks. Trivia * He has been determined to be a member of the ISFJ personality type.https://www.personalityclub.com/blog/lord-of-the-rings-personality-chart/ Voice dubbing actors Gallery Sam frodo.jpg|Sam bidden farewell by Frodo Image:LEGO Sam Gamegee.png|Sam as a LEGO minifigure. Image:pic5D7DC929D2B195EC728B5D71254237AD.png|A second image of LEGO Sam, with a frying pan. Translations References Category:Hobbits Category:Gamgees Category:Elf friends Category:Fellowship members Category:Ring bearers Category:The Lord of the Rings Characters Category:The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (film) Characters Category:The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (film) Characters Category:The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (film) Characters Category:Bearers of the One Ring Category:Major characters (The Lord of the Rings) de:Samweis Gamdschie es:Samsagaz Gamyi fr:Samsagace Gamegie he:סאם גאמג'י it:Samvise Gamgee nl:Sam Gewissies pl:Samwise Gamgee ru:Сэмуайз Гэмджи